I don't know, I think the zune looks pretty cool with the (free) laser engraving, for example:

And it doesn't really matter that it doesn't work with iTunes. A big part of the whole wifi thing is that with the subscription service, you can download songs wherever you are, as much as you want, which is especially great for the smaller capacity players...

Interface-wise, the zune is way more intuitive than the iPod classic, and the touch senstitive pad mirrors a lot of the functionality of the iPhone when it comes to flipping through albums. I don't own a Zune, but I do own an iPhone, and have tried a friend's zune and it's pretty close to that, which is a huge step up from endless clickwheel scrolling and shifting through albums in the ridiculous iPod classic menu system.

The folks that think wifi is useless without a web browser don't seem to be thinking of MP3 players as music-only devices anymore. I think that as Apple shifts focus to the iPod touch, which is really getting into PSP territory with all the games and apps and extra shit, it's important that there are some pure, full-functioned and innovative music devices out there. I think if Windows would wise up and include FLAC functionality to the zune, they'd get a lot of people on board who really just want a music player that plays music...

Anyways, I think this looks like the beginning of where the Zune stops being a step behind the iPod and really coming into its own as a product, which only means more choices for us.

They are called playlists - if you have thousands of songs you should really have playlists. Also, the Zune with all the laser engraving I suppose looks cool to you but it looks stupid to me. I'll take the clean shiny back of an iPod any day (let's not get into the scratching argument, I just put a simple clear cover on it so it stays looking nice).

Wi-fi downloading is only useful when you're in a place that allows you access to their WiFi for free. Maybe I don't live in a big enough city but I can't remember the last time I actually stumbled across a place that had honest to God free wi-fi. (I live in the 3rd largest metropolitan area in the country so I'm certainly not out in the middle of no-where).

If you just want a music player to play music you can get a Classic or a Nano - I'm not really sure what you're after here. The Nano isn't full-functioned or innovative?

Also, FLAC wouldn't do a single bit of damage what-so-ever. MS might gain a couple hundred people (you, apparently, included) but the masses just don't give a crap. Hence why they discontinued the 160GB - it just wasn't selling for squat.

As long as the Zune doesn't have iTunes support it will be behind the iPod - that's not some fanboy talk that's just how it works with the masses. Apple hasn't had the best or most feature rich MP3 player on the market for years but yet their market share remains impressively high - that should be proof enough that the masses don't care about features they'll hardly, if ever, use.

It's anonymous, but that doesn't mean they don't track what songs people are playing. Also, it does require logging into an iTunes account to use, which is suspicious. This would be a really easy tool to help record labels come up with pirating statistics, and unless Apple guarantees that email addresses/ISPs, etc are all securely wiped frequently, it could be a pretty big liability for users... Additionally, what's to stop record companies, etc. from artificially shaping the Genius by setting up a bunch of iTunes accounts and uploading playlists that steer listeners to their selected music? It's bad enough that Jack Johnson and some others have gotten careers via iTunes...

actually, I don't think a new iPod will do it for ya - it has to have the mic rather than just the speaker...

Pretty sure he said the new earbuds for the new iPod has a mike on them. Either way it's not possible for me. The new iPod touch is just not different enough from the original (that I already have and only bought in the last few months) to justify upgrading. If they had thrown the camera in I would have bit at it.

I guess there is no one "cool" on this list, as no one seems to know the answer to my original question which is who the artists of the iPod ad music are.

I was just assuming (because it would be smart) that Apple had a way to sell you those catchy songs they use in their ads. There must be like a million people who will see those ads today and if they had an easy link to buy the music, they'd probably sell a boatload of copies.

Seems like an easy opportunity that Apple is totally missing.

In Windows, a window can be a document, it can be an application, or it can be a window that contains other documents or applications. Theres just no consistency. Its just a big grab bag of monkey...

Also, FLAC wouldn't do a single bit of damage what-so-ever. MS might gain a couple hundred people (you, apparently, included) but the masses just don't give a crap. Hence why they discontinued the 160GB - it just wasn't selling for squat.

Tell that to the 100,000 users at What and Waffles and the countless more at Demonoid and other trackers that almost exclusively use FLAC. Or the over 4 million that have downloaded Rockbox to get FLAC on their ipods at the sacrifice of battery time.

Pretty sure he said the new earbuds for the new iPod has a mike on them. Either way it's not possible for me. The new iPod touch is just not different enough from the original (that I already have and only bought in the last few months) to justify upgrading. If they had thrown the camera in I would have bit at it.

I guess there is no one "cool" on this list, as no one seems to know the answer to my original question which is who the artists of the iPod ad music are.

I was just assuming (because it would be smart) that Apple had a way to sell you those catchy songs they use in their ads. There must be like a million people who will see those ads today and if they had an easy link to buy the music, they'd probably sell a boatload of copies.

Seems like an easy opportunity that Apple is totally missing.

There's usually a spot on the iTunes front page with the commercial and it says what the song is in the title. I know that's not really an answer but at least it's something!

Tell that to the 100,000 users at What and Waffles and the countless more at Demonoid and other trackers that almost exclusively use FLAC. Or the over 4 million that have downloaded Rockbox to get FLAC on their ipods at the sacrifice of battery time.

4 million total downloads is nothing and, again, the masses just don't care. Look at the iTunes store - most of the songs are still DRM'd 128kbps AAC but they are still selling like hotcakes.

Ok, so it's more than 100 but that was sarcasm. And no, going on and on about 4 million total downloads is not going to make me think that the masses give a crap about FLAC. Apple's goal with the iPod, as opposed to the Mac, is the appeal to the masses. That's why they are still so successful without putting in all those options that other players have (ones that sacrifice battery life I might add). Now the Mac, that's a different story. They price those high and only appeal to a small % of people. Apple is the Dell + HP of the mp3 world. They make MP3 players for the masses and throw a few goodies out there for the people who like to think themselves more than just a member of "the masses."

Do the new iPod nano accelerators also enable them to act as gaming devices, or is it strictly limited to rotating the pictures/movies and the "shake/shuffle" action? As far as the info on Apple goes, it seems like they are not fully enabled to be similar to the touches.

With the Zune update today, Microsoft seems to have a better product at the same price now if you compare the Zune 120 to the iPod classic. Same price and size, but the Zune has built in radio, wireless and a much better interface...

Nobody cares about having radio on their iPod. If they did, the iPod would have been marginalised years ago.

The "shake/shuffle" gag is kind of cute....; but didn't anybody but me flash on the "Third Rock from the Sun" where they went into a computer store, and Dick picks up a laptop and says:" Oh, yes...I have something similar to this at home," and shakes it like an Etch-a-Sketch to try to clear the screen?

"Downtown man Dave Johnson speaks of his shock at being arrested for shuffling his music on his new iPod as he was sitting on the bus/tube/tram this morning. 'I just had my iPod in my pocket, but I was tired of listening to Jack Johnson and wanted to mix it up a bit, so I just used the shake-to-shuffle feature. Next thing I know, women are looking at me with a look of disgust on their face, and at the next stop the police got on board and arrested me!' he says."

That is funny! hah

I think I want a 16GB Product (Red) iPod Nano. Very interesting. I have to wait until 6:30 (PST) to use iTunes 8 bleh! Long story...

Apple's decisions are always built on what customers are buying. People are buying more Nanos then anything else. As far as the Zune having a better interface goes, that is a matter of perspective. To me, it seems like a copy of Apple's interface done up a bit with unnecessary graphics. If you do a Google search, you'll find amny who agree. Moreover, Apple's classic iPod still has a lot going for it that the Zune doesn't. For instance, you can use the classic iPod as a hardrive, it has an alarm clock, you can sync photos and video to a television. Finally, the Zune has no accessories compared to the iPod which has thousands.

OK, one last thing. I haven't checked out the new Zune's wireless features, but the first and second generation stunk. Whenever you tried to squirt a song to somebody or vice verse you'd get an annoying message not allowing that song to be shared.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Superbass

Agreed.

With the Zune update today, Microsoft seems to have a better product at the same price now if you compare the Zune 120 to the iPod classic. Same price and size, but the Zune has built in radio, wireless and a much better interface...

I guess Apple has made the decision that the iPod classic with it's hard drive is not worth the trouble anymore and will let Microsoft and other companies take over that part of the market.

They're gambling a bit that the Touch/Nano combo is the future of MP3's and that flash is the way forward. Meanwhile, we'll just have to wait for flash memory to get a lot cheaper before we get really high-capacity portable players, it seems...

Very disappointing that the Nanos seem to be the same capacity as previously (also on par with Zune)...

With the Zune update today, Microsoft seems to have a better product at the same price now if you compare the Zune 120 to the iPod classic. Same price and size, but the Zune has built in radio, wireless and a much better interface...

I guess Apple has made the decision that the iPod classic with it's hard drive is not worth the trouble anymore and will let Microsoft and other companies take over that part of the market.

They're gambling a bit that the Touch/Nano combo is the future of MP3's and that flash is the way forward. Meanwhile, we'll just have to wait for flash memory to get a lot cheaper before we get really high-capacity portable players, it seems...

Very disappointing that the Nanos seem to be the same capacity as previously (also on par with Zune)...

I though the iPods were made for us to get away from the radio? Who wants to listen to radio? 2.3% of the market.. well i guess Zune won that 2.3%. Good for them. Now lets let's put a calculator on it.

They are called playlists - if you have thousands of songs you should really have playlists. Also, the Zune with all the laser engraving I suppose looks cool to you but it looks stupid to me. I'll take the clean shiny back of an iPod any day (let's not get into the scratching argument, I just put a simple clear cover on it so it stays looking nice).

Wi-fi downloading is only useful when you're in a place that allows you access to their WiFi for free. Maybe I don't live in a big enough city but I can't remember the last time I actually stumbled across a place that had honest to God free wi-fi. (I live in the 3rd largest metropolitan area in the country so I'm certainly not out in the middle of no-where).

If you just want a music player to play music you can get a Classic or a Nano - I'm not really sure what you're after here. The Nano isn't full-functioned or innovative?

Also, FLAC wouldn't do a single bit of damage what-so-ever. MS might gain a couple hundred people (you, apparently, included) but the masses just don't give a crap. Hence why they discontinued the 160GB - it just wasn't selling for squat.

As long as the Zune doesn't have iTunes support it will be behind the iPod - that's not some fanboy talk that's just how it works with the masses. Apple hasn't had the best or most feature rich MP3 player on the market for years but yet their market share remains impressively high - that should be proof enough that the masses don't care about features they'll hardly, if ever, use.

This LAZIOR engraving is another 2.3% of the market who really wants it. Its like Getting a tattoo, but you can't make your own, and you have to choose from only few dozens of fugly designs, that EVENTUALLY you'll start to hate.

At least now, the iPod refresh is out of the way, and we can focus on some better reasons for the margin drop.

There have been additional news items that validated my early theory about Google TV coming out soon. NBC Universal coming back to iTunes also makes AppleTV's case to be a Set-top box replacement that much more stronger (cannot imagine Apple and Google running a TV service without NBC, can you?). I think the way it played out, was that NBC Universal was approached by Google and Apple about the launch of Google TV - and NBC realized that if they were left out of Google TV, they would be the losers. So they ate humble pie, and signed on to iTunes again. The fact that NBC is now offering lower priced shows, and entire seasons on iTunes at lower prices, suggests that Apple drove a hard bargain - net result, customer gets a great deal. NBC got none of the premium pricing it wanted, and actually ended up lowering the average price per show.

Out of all of Apple's revenue lines, we already had changes in iPhone and iPod recently. That leaves Apple TV and the Mac line up. I dont think Mac will see major changes from a software perspective, till Snow Leopard launches. That leaves either hardware changes on Mac, lower prices for the entire Mac range, or the Apple TV as alternatives.

I think lower prices on the Mac range dont make too much sense - there is'nt much point in announcing this, just after the Back To School ends - the negative publicity from that is just not worth it. If the Mac is refreshed with better hardware specs, at the same price points, then yes - it would qualify. But I can only think of BluRay as the cause of that - though Apple is on the Blu-Ray panel, Blu-Ray just does not fit in with everything that Apple is trying to achieve. It is a step back from the online content store that Apple has created with iTunes. I doubt if Blu-Ray is a big priority for Apple (to the extent of sacrificing their profit margins to include Blu-Ray in their entire range). The other possible hardware change is custom chips, from their PA Semi acquisition - but there is no way a custom chip would lower their margin so much. In any case, one would assume that the custom chip actually helps Apple to further differentiate their product from the PC world, and allow even better margins.

The more I think about it, the more I am inclined to believe that it is Apple TV where the action is going to be. Maybe I am wrong about how this will play out, and whether there will be a tie-up between Apple and Google - though they both look like the perfect fit to create a major shake-up in the TV space. I think this would be too big for either company to do alone.

The 160GB had 2 80GB platters and was thicker as a result, so they dropped the thick one (since "no one" bought them) and kept the thin one which received a storage boost, so they didn't drop it from 160 to 120, they dropped it and upped the capacity on the other one.

It's interesting that a 240GB drive was not introduced that I heard. There's no way to update the $349 model even if they wanted to.

He might have just been talking about how thin the Nano is. Nobody else can duplicate that.

Also, the new iTunes "Genius" is probably a copywrited program, so of course nobody can duplicate that. Of course, i'm not sure how many people want their listening habits constantly tracked by Apple. Any idea if they including anything in the EULA of iTunes regarding sharing listening habits with other companies? I downloaded 8 today, and it all feels ver big-brotherish...

You don't have to share anything with Apple to use the Genius to make playlists from your own music. iTunes 8 gives you the option of sharing you Genius playlists with Apple or not, so it's up to you if you want "big brother" watching.

It also says that anything sent to Apple is "anonymous". I didn't read the whole licensing agreement, so it might be that Apple can share your listening habits if you choose to let them view you playlists, but I'm sure Apple is using the downloading "habits" of people from the iTune store in their marketing, etc.

Anyway, my point is that you can use the Genius without sending information to Apple.

I'm surprised there hasn't been one complaint about the glass on the Nano. People certainly complained about on the iPhone. I know mine would get banged up quite a bit when used at the gym.

I'm also surprised that no one is complaining that Apple finally put a voice recorder into one of their iPods.

PS: I just realized that the Nano doesn't come with Nike+ BT built-in, like the Touch. Sucks that you still need that clip hanging off of it.

Complain, complain, complain.

SOME people complained about the glass on the iPhone. Most don't have any problem with it.

And you're surprised that people are complaining about something that they were complaining that they wanted???? Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat???

solipsism... I normally agree with what you have to say, which is a lot since you post a lot, but this one is out of left field. Surprised that no one is complaining that they finally got what they been asking for??? this does not compute

...but I'm sure Apple is using the downloading "habits" of people from the iTune store in their marketing, etc.

Anyway, my point is that you can use the Genius without sending information to Apple.

I'd count on it. Didn't Jobs said that Jack Johnson was the most purchased musician with something like 60M DLs? If the most sales on iTunes Store affected who performed at the event, I'd think that granular analysis of exactly what songs we listen to most should give them a lot of marketing ammunition. Are they going to sell this info or only use it internally? My mind is spinning by how much data this is going to provide them. If only Neilsen could get this kind of info about TV viewing habits.

Dick Applebaum on whether the iPad is a personal computer: "BTW, I am posting this from my iPad pc while sitting on the throne... personal enough for you?"

solipsism... I normally agree with what you have to say, which is a lot since you post a lot, but this one is out of left field. Surprised that no one is complaining that they finally got what they been asking for??? this does not compute

I've been all for the glass since it was first rumoured on the iPhone, it's dense and doesn't scratch easily. But I've have so much complaining about it, even after it came out. Doesn't get me wrong, I'm glad people aren't on that anymore, I'm just surprised by since I don't recall any posts asking for a glass Nano screen.

Dick Applebaum on whether the iPad is a personal computer: "BTW, I am posting this from my iPad pc while sitting on the throne... personal enough for you?"

I'd count on it. Didn't Jobs said that Jack Johnson was the most purchased musician with something like 60M DLs. If the most sales on iTunes Store affected who performed at the event, I'd think that granular analysis of exactly what songs we listen to most should give them a lot of marketing ammunition. Are they going to sell this info or only use it internally? I mind is spinning by how much data this is going to provide them. If only Neilsen could get this info about TV viewing habits.

Apple is most definitely going to use our Genius playlists to target the buyers much more effectively. That's a given.

It's just that you don't HAVE to share your Genius playlists if you don't want to. There is the option not to send the info to Apple, and just us the Genius playlists for yourself, it you find them useful.

It doesn't seem like many people are talking about the nano's themselves but I gotta say I really like the new ones, this is what I wanted instead of the "fatboy" nano. I just wish the classic had a longer 3 inch screen like the zune.

Quote:

Originally Posted by appleinsider vBulletin Message

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The 3G Nano had an all metal case, I'm presuming the top and bottom of the 4G are plastic tabs as on the 2G.

The taller 4G may fit into your hand better but the 3G fits into your pocket more comfortably. More time is spent listening to it then operating it. In landscape mode it will be more awkward to hold than the 3G.

The controls on the 4G are incorrectly orientated when you use it in landscape mode (never thought Apple would accept such a design compromise).

On the 3G the hold switch, docking port and headphone jack are all located on the bottom in a clean symmetrical design. The 4G uses the untidy 2G layout.